Evaluating Your Individual Financial Fitness for Retirement:
Retirement is an exciting time but can also bring along some elements of stress. We all long for freedom in our personal calendars to pursue the activities that we love to do, but that freedom comes at a price – trading our ongoing, incoming cash flow for a fixed income based on our existing savings, pension plans and government benefits.
How will I know I am going to be okay?
It helps to have some guidance at this critical time to make sure you are taking full advantage of all your income earning and tax saving strategies to keep as many dollars as possible in your pocket during retirement. There are many tactics to stretch each dollar, and the most effective method for getting the most for your money is to ensure that you are structured optimally tax-wise.
What needs to change once I am retired?
As we move between stages of our life cycle our financial plans need to be adjusted accordingly. There are many factors to consider – new personal goals, changes to cash flow when the steady paycheque is traded for a fixed income in retirement, planning ahead for future personal and wellness needs.
Here are some questions to ask yourself while you are navigating through these plan updates.
Financial Fitness Retirement Checklist:
- Is my investment portfolio aligned with my new goals, my cash flow needs and has risk been mitigated to a larger degree?
- Does anyone else rely on me financially?
- Do I have medical and dental benefits? This could include vision-care, comprehensive dental coverage (dentures, implants), mobility equipment and extra medication costs.
- Am I aware of all the benefits, tax credits and grants available through all levels of government in Canada?
- Do I know what financial price tag should be allocated to my personal retirement goals (travel, hobbies, sports, for instance)?
If I am going to age in place and stay in my home, these elements all have an associated cost:
- Does my home need modifications or renovations for safety and mobility?
- How will I handle the expenses of maintaining my home – ongoing and extraordinary?
- Will I need groceries and/or meals delivered?
- Do I need a gardener?
- Will I need cooking/cleaning/extra health care support in my home with a nurse/companion? Today, or in the future?
- What do my transportation costs look like?
If I decide to move into a supported living residence, what extra costs might ensue?
Costs may also go down in this scenario given all the services that are included in the monthly charge.
Before you make financial decisions that could have a long-term effect on your well-being, consider some of these questions – and know that support is available to help you through this process if you need it.
Let’s remove some of those stresses and find answers to some of those questions. Every individual journey takes a different path, so if you’re interested in seeing how we can help you navigate your retirement adventure, please reach out to us. We love helping our clients launch into this next chapter of their lives!
We are looking forward to the opportunity to meet you! For more information, please feel free to reach out.
- Check out our upcoming events.
- Contact Us for more information on Sea Glass Wealth Advisory Group.
- Find Tracey on LinkedIn and Facebook.
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